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(No Model.) A. H, MEYER; pp

a'ratus for, and Process of, separating Gold,"Silver,

.and Copper fro ea,d.,

P ted Nov. 30,1880.

' Inventor:

MWKM i NIPETERS, PrlomLimoGRAPl-lia, WASHINGTON D C UNITED STATES PATENT@TTTQE.

ARTHUR H. MEYER, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

APPARATUS FOR AND PROCESS OF SEPARATING GOLD, SILVER, AND COPPER FROMLEAD.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 234,884, dated November30, 1880.

Application filed April 24, 1880.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR H. MEYER, of St. Louis, Missouri, have made anew and useful Improvement in Apparatus for and Process of SeparatingSilver, Gold, and Copper from Lead, of which the following is a full,clear, and exact description, reference being had to the annexeddrawings, making part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is avertical section taken through a kettle, and showing, in elevation, thedevice used in carrying out the improvement and Fig. 2, a plan of thesame, the cord and pulleys not being shown.

The same letters denote the same parts.

In separating gold, silver, and copper from the lead in base bullion thepractice is to melt the bullion in a suitable kettle and then add Zincthereto, forming thereby an alloy which is richer in silver than theoriginal bullion, and which is separated therefrom when the contents ofthe kettle are sufficiently cooled down for the alloy to solidify.

To effect the desired cooling the custom has been to draw the fire frombeneath the kettle and allow the latter to gradually cool down to thedesired degree. This is a tedious operation, requiring several hours,and in warm weather frequently a day or two.

To provide an improved mode of separating the richer metals in questionfrom the lead in base bullion, and that such separation may be effectedmore speedily and with the use of a smaller amount of zinc than hithertohas been necessary, is the aim of the present improvement, whichconsists in chilling the molten bat-h only, meanwhile maintaining theapplication of heat to the exterior of the kettle, as follows Arepresents a kettle supported upon the walls a a and heated by means ofa fire beneath, all in the usual manner. The base bullion is softenedand tapped into the kettle and the zinc added thereto. Then to effectthe cooling a pipe or system of piping, B, is, by means of the cord 0and pulleys c c, lowered into the molten bath, bringing the pipingpreferably very near the bottom of the kettle. Hose-connections D D aremade. with the piping and water is sent through it, flowing in at D andout at D, and as indicated by the arrows. Any air in the pipes can belet out by (No model.)

means of the cooks E E. The flow of water, as described, causes thecontents of the kettle to be rapidly chilled, in practice not requiringover fifteen minutes to cool the molten metal to that degree at whichthe zinc-silver-lead alloy solidifies. This occurs at first in thatportion of the bath which is in the immediate vicinity of the piping,the alloy collecting about the piping together with some of the basebullion. The piping is then swung around in the kettle so as to come incontact with all parts of the bath, bringing the piping into a positionat right angles to that shown in Fig. 2 and into any desiredintermediate positions. As the alloy and base bullion upon the pipingcome in contact with the hotter base bullion, which occurs as the pipingis turned around, the base bullion that has hardened upon the pipingmelts off and the alloy floats upward to the surface of the bath, whereit is collected.

A special advantage derived from curving the pipes and carrying themdown to the lower part of the kettle, as shown, is that thereby themolten bath is cooled down evenly. Formerly, when the metal was allowedto cool by radiation, the surface of the metal cooled down in advance ofthe metal at the bottom of the kettle, and in consequence it required,in practice a larger amount of zinc to separate the alloy than by thepresent mode, and a portion of the alloy also adhered to the shell ofthe kettle. Although the principal portion of the zinc is eventuallyregained, any increase in the amount used necessarily increases theexpense of the operation.

The rods I) serve to brace the piping, to connect it with the cord 0,and also to support a weight, F, which is used to keep the piping downin the kettle.

The piping B, which might be in the form of a hollow flattened tube, orin any other shape suitable for carrying the water-current through theliquid metal for the purpose described, is preferably in the form of thewinding pipe I) 1) b as shown. It is desirable, however, for the pipingto be so constructed as to have an excess of cooling-surface at thelowest part of the kettle, for in the present operation the fire isconstantly maintained beneath the kettle, keeping the shell of thekettle warm and preventing the adherence of the alloy thereto, and

hence if the cooling-surface of the piping were evenly distributedthroughout the kettle, the molten bath would be overheated at and nearthe bottom thereof, and this difficulty would be increased by theradiation from the surface of the bath.

I claim 1. The herein-described mode of separating silver, gold, orcopper from lead in base bullion, which consists in softening thebullion in the separating-kettle, adding zine thereto and chilling themolten bath only, meanwhile maintaining the application of heat to theexterior of the kettle, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

2. The herein-described mode of separating silver, gold, or copper fromlead in base bullion, which consists in softening the bullion in theseparating-kettle, adding zinc thereto, and chilling the molten bathevenly, meanwhile maintaining, the application of heat to the exteriorof the kettle, substantially as described, and for the purposes setforth.

3. The herein-described apparatus for cooling base bullion in theseparation of silver, gold, and copper from lead, consisting of thecombination of the kettle A, piping B, cord 0, pulleys 0 c, flexibleconnections D D, and Weight F, said piping being curved and verticallyand radially adjustablein said kettle, sub- 0 stantially as described.

A. H. MEYER.

Witnesses SAML. S. BoYD, CHAS. D. MOODY.

